What if you are reborn as a demon after a funeral?

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"......"

Although it was the magic her master loved most and taught her in his dying years, Frillie wasn't angry at being spoken to so harshly.

She simply turned away, giving Ash a helpless look, and prepared to leave.

After all, the other party was her elder, and she was already used to this attitude... In fact, Celia had the same attitude when she delivered the will, directly belittling her master's favorite magic and ideals to nothing, and even bluntly saying that they were a bit disgusting.

..............................

Even Ash felt that Celia was always unreasonable, even towards Vorame, whom she had raised since childhood, she was always cold and never said a kind word to her.

But the other person was an elder... the one who raised Volamere, so Frillie felt she had no right to say anything and simply wanted to leave.

But it was precisely this attitude that made Celia even more unhappy:

"You were fooled and didn't even argue back? It's unbelievable that a mage like you could defeat the Demon King."

"...That wasn't achieved by my own strength alone." Upon hearing this, Frilian finally stopped and turned around.

"Simmel, Haita, Aize, I... I can't defeat the Demon King without any of them."

"To be honest, I never expected this. When I heard about it, I thought you were going to be killed." Ash couldn't help but interject at this moment to ease the atmosphere: "After all, the Demon King is on a completely different level than the Corrupt Sage."

"To be honest, I never expected this either. At first, I thought we were doomed, but we still won in the end. How exactly we won... only the goddess knows. It was a complete miracle, but it was definitely a miracle that we were able to create by working together."

"So you were lucky enough to meet a group of good friends, and then you were fortunate enough to be blessed by the goddess and receive a miracle from the gods? You're really lucky." Celia, with her foul mouth, mocked once again.

“Yes, I was really lucky…” Before Frilian could finish speaking, Celia interrupted her with a meaningful smile: “—Next time, you won’t be so lucky.”

"....What's the meaning?"

"The future Demon King has gained unprecedented authority. He has gathered both humans and demons together and no longer simply controls them with fear. If you want to stop him again, you will not be facing the Demon King alone."

Celia glanced at Ash without batting an eye, her expression a mix of mockery and disdain for her luck.

But Frillie didn't care at all about being mocked; however, the content of her words was something she couldn't ignore:

“Seria, do you know? About this strange calm.”

"So what if I know?"

"tell me."

Why should I tell you?

"...This concerns the future of the world."

"It's not my business?"

"...Yes, you hate peace."

Seeing that she couldn't get any useful information from her, Frillie stopped hoping that this person could provide her with valuable intelligence. After a moment of contemplation, she asked:

"Since even you know this, then most of the high-ranking officials in this country must know it too, right?"

"...Who knows?"

"So, this country's sudden mobilization of troops near the magic city is also to deal with the impending emergence of a new demon king?"

"perhaps."

"..."

No matter what she said, Celia responded with a playful smile and ambiguous replies.

This made her look at Ash: "Ash, tell me about Celie, her personality is even worse than yours."

"—I won't allow you to say that about Celia. She works so hard every day, how can you talk about her like that?"

"??...Did you eat anything strange today?"

His unprecedented protective attitude made Frilian wonder if he had been under Celie's illusion or fed some strange substance.

"You are being incredibly rude. Do I need a reason to defend my master? Isn't this just a matter of course?"

"...Haa..." His righteous expression left Frillie completely bewildered.

While he was still looking completely bewildered, he grabbed her shoulders, turned her around, and was about to forcibly kick her out of the room.

But at the last moment, Frillie, whose face was blank with shock, suddenly noticed something and turned her gaze toward the flowerbed beside her. She stopped abruptly and looked to the side: "Wait a minute, these flowers... they were all created with magic, weren't they? It's the kind of magic that makes flower fields appear, which the teacher likes—didn't you say it was boring magic?"

“…” Celia, who had been enjoying watching Ash dismiss Frillien, was taken aback by these words.

Though there was a brief silence, she looked back at the flowers beside her and said bluntly:

"To be honest, Vlame was a failure. He had such outstanding talent, but he couldn't reach my level. After that, I took in many disciples... Except for Ash, all of them passed away when their strength was far inferior to mine."

“Seria must be regretting it now, right? Taking in those disciples, or rather, you’ve always said that.”

"You're wrong. Although that's what I say, I don't know why, but I've never regretted taking in so many disciples... Even though they were just disciples I took in on a whim, I remember each of their personalities and favorite magic very clearly... even though they didn't make it into history."

Celia gazed at the flowers before her and, for the first time, revealed her true feelings to an outsider... though the recipient was not her disciple.

But Ash, who was still pushing Frillie, couldn't help but turn around and look at him with a surprised expression:

"Seria...so you've always thought of me like this? So, you remember the magic I like?"

"Huh? What are you being so narcissistic about? -- I don't remember, I'm not interested, you're the exception, the only one I regret. Get out of here with Frilian."

As soon as he said this, Celia's expression instantly changed from sadness to impatience, and she spoke to him ruthlessly in a very fast-paced manner.

This situation is basically no different from what happened to Lylene. If it were Lylene, she would probably be heartbroken for a while, but...

"These days, having such a troublesome master makes it really difficult to be a good disciple."

Ash completely ignored the sarcastic remarks, sat back in his rocking chair, and utterly disregarded Celie's hurtful words. He even smugly resumed reading his book.

After all, when facing a person like Celie with such an awkward personality, he felt that caring too much would be like losing... But his completely indifferent attitude made Celie feel very uncomfortable watching from the sidelines.

Although I don't have to consider his feelings, my own mood has actually worsened.

..............................

..............................

After Frilian took everything in, she shook her head with a smile and walked away.

After selling the earth magic to Ash's uncle, Lishita stepped into the room and was immediately overwhelmed by the still terrifying magic power that Celie had suppressed.

Of course... he couldn't detect the suppressed magical energy fluctuations at all.

And at the second glance, I saw it—the owner of that magical fluctuation—a seemingly frail, golden-haired elf, and...

"...Why are you already here?!"

Lishita noticed the legendary great mage right there, and was about to say something when she was stunned by the familiar boy lying next to Celie in a rocking chair, looking even more relaxed than Celie herself.

Celia merely glanced at him before casually nodding, "Pass."

"...Passed? Just like that, and I haven't even said anything yet, have I?" Lishita felt he should be happy, but this abrupt situation left him a little bewildered.

Ash, who was still reading a book nearby, offered an explanation: "Seria's intuition is very accurate; just trust it."

"Ha, ha..." Lishita was a little confused, but she still nodded to the two of them in greeting before turning and leaving the scene.

Many people entered the venue in turn, and while many were eliminated, many also qualified... However, Ash could also see it.

While it's true that there's an element of intuition involved, this guy mostly relies on preferences and potential.

It doesn't matter if someone doesn't actually reach the strength of a first-level mage, as long as their personality and potential satisfy her. However, if someone is strong enough but their personality doesn't match hers, she won't allow them to pass... Frillian is an example of this.

A short while later, Ash saw Rabine appear there.

However... compared to Lichta, Rabine was not surprised by his presence. He simply shook his head with a slightly speechless expression, but because the occasion was important, he didn't say much and looked at Celie with a stern face.

After only a brief moment of thought, Celia nodded in approval... However, it was clear that she approved of potential and personality, not ability, because many of the other test takers were not strong enough either.

Is this what they call mutual appreciation between tsundere types? Ash really wanted to complain, but he gave up for the sake of his wallet, and then... Philon appeared.

Having barely taken two steps inside, Philon frowned immediately upon noticing Ash: "...Lord Ash? Why are you...?"

Before she could finish speaking, she seemed to notice something else and stared at a certain spot in the air.

This made Celia, who had previously thought she was incapable, suddenly realize something, and she said sternly, "...What did you see?"

"Magic, it's flickering...?"

"Hey...you're called Philon, right?" Upon hearing this, Celia's lips curled into a smile for the first time: "You'll be my apprentice."

Ash could tell from her attitude that of everyone, she was most satisfied with Philon, however...

"Huh? No." Philon was taken aback for a moment, but then decisively refused without even thinking.

This caused Celia's smile to freeze for a moment, but she quickly recovered and smiled again, saying, "This will not do you any harm. I can take you to a higher realm, a realm that no human mage has ever reached before."

"Has Lord Ash not arrived either?"

"...Let's say that no human has reached this level except Ash; in short, it surpasses the failed creation of Volame, the progenitor of human magic, who was trained on a whim, as well as Volame's disciple Frilian, allowing you to truly become a success in your lifetime."

"...In my lifetime?"

"There's nothing we can do. Human lifespans are too short, but your talent is extraordinary. When you're over a hundred years old, you'll be able to reach Ash's current level... in terms of magic, of course."

"Wouldn't that mean you could never catch up in your entire life?"